THAI CHILI Chinatown
701 7th St, NW
Verizon Center Inside Gallery Place Building
202-393-2905
Cafe revels in them. Their food brims with flavor.” Tom Sietsema,
“Details, details. Sahara Lebanese Market & The Washington Post, Oct.’09
Café: 703-421-8252 •
www.saharamarketcafe.com SAHARA
46950 Community Plaza, Sterling, VA 20164
Lebanese Market & Café
Tex-Mex Cuisine
Sizzling Fajitas, Tex-Mex Specialties & Seafood Specials Lunch & Dinner • Free Parking • Open 7 Days a Week
703.243.9811/9812 •
www.elpasocafe.net 4235 N. Pershing Dr. • Arlington, VA 22203
Located Next to
Thai Weekend Brunch M ning
Award Winnin re &
Signature tional
Traditio g
Dish ishes h Menu
www.duangrats.com
Fresh Jumbo Soft Shell
Lobsters & Seafood
5878 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041 (703)820-5775
With Love…
From Beatrice’ Kitchen to You.
RISTORANTE ITALIANOCAPRI
6825 Redmond Dr., McLean, VA 22101 703-288-4601 •
www.caprimcleanva.com
THE ULTIMATE IN LEBANESE CUISINE
BACCHUS OF LEBANON 7945 Norfolk Avenue Bethesda, MD 301-657-1722
www.Bacchusoflebanon.com
Yechon Restaurant Fine Korean and Japanese Cuisine
(703)914-4646 • (703)914-0100 OPEN 24 HOURS
4121 Hummer Rd., Annandale, VA 22003
Listen to the sounds of a cleaver hitting a hunk of meat, then wood. Now, taste. The specialty of the house is the kind of meal that brings purists across state lines: tacos in nearly two dozen flavors and available as early as 5 a.m. daily to accommodate the laborers who flock here, says owner Javier Martinez. (On a busy day, his crew turns out 2,000 tacos.) Grilled beef sprinkled with chopped onion and cilantro is tasty, and I appreciate the fingers of fresh pineapple garnishing the well-seasoned pork taco. Like all the tacos here, the one with sliced cactus (vegetarian alert!) comes bundled in two griddled tortillas. But even better are the tacos filled with offal, including tender beef tongue and soft, deliciously fatty pig lips. Cut the richness with a splash of the red (chili) or green (jalapeño) salsa. Does the Coke taste different? It’s from Mexico and is made with sugar instead of corn syrup, reflecting the preference of the taqueria’s crowd. // 5020 Edmonston Rd., Hyattsville; 301- 277-4477. No Web site. Open: breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. All major credit cards. Entree prices: $2 to $3. Sound check: 74 decibels.
214 KING ST., OLD TOWN 703-683-6868
www.warehousebarandgrill.com
★★ TRUMMER’S ON MAIN Every dish Clay Miller dreams up includes an “aha!” moment. I thought I knew what mulligatawny soup was until Miller, one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs of 2010, served the traditional hot South Indian soup to me as a cold, creamy elixir whispering of curry and vermouth. The pale yellow puree was poured over a nest of sweet shrimp garnished with a dab of snowy yuzu sorbet and a single sail of golden apple slice, an accent that echoed the pureed fruit hidden in the soup. In another dish, twists of pasta filled with goat cheese were tarted up with brilliant red sticks of pickled rhubarb, a course that crackled with … dehydrated olives? The combination sounds strange, but it did a jig on the tongue. Meanwhile, melting roast pork shoulder sported a bright green powder of crushed bay leaves; a cylinder of pineapple poached in plum juice added yet more pizazz to the plate. Miller’s Achilles’ heel is the sugar bowl. Branzino with cauliflower cream and
raisins suffered from the sweets. Still, there are plenty of incentives to visit this romantic country restaurant. One is Trummer’s airy Winter Garden, a dining room wrapped in glass and facing a waterfall. Another requires a sense of timing: Order between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, to take advantage of Miller’s three- course “Rush Hour” menu for $38. // 7134 Main St., Clifton; 703-266- 1623;
www.trummersonmain.com. Open: dinner Tuesday through Sunday, Sunday brunch. All major credit cards. Entree prices: dinner $24 to $36, three- course brunch $32. Sound check: 70 decibels.
★★ VERMILION Vermilion is a neighborhood restaurant that aspires to something greater. Lots of chefs whip up corn chowder in summer. Anthony Chittum adds jalapeño and mussels to his, turning what could be ordinary into something sensuous. Goat cheese-stuffed pasta is pretty commonplace, too, which is why I applaud Chittum’s take on the dish, which he personalizes with poppy seeds, arranges with roasted baby beets and ties together with a fine froth of walnuts, herbs and milk. Chittum slips peaches into his gazpacho, builds BLTs with soft-shell crabs and sends me to Greece with every bite of his lamb chops. They’re shored up with crunchy chickpeas, zesty merguez and a jumble of tomatoes, cucumbers and feta cheese. Thanks to an ongoing makeover of the Alexandria restaurant — notice the gas lanterns and food photographs gracing the walls these days? — the upstairs dining room, my favorite place to roost, is almost as fetching as the food. Coming later this year: a six- seat chef’s table, where Chittum plans to serve whatever looks good to him in the market. I’m getting hungry just thinking about his possibilities. // 1120 King St., Alexandria; 703-684-9669;
www.vermilionrestaurant.com. Open: lunch Monday through Friday, dinner daily, brunch Saturday and Sunday. All major credit cards except Diners Club. Entree prices: lunch $10 to $15, dinner $21 to $33, brunch $10 to $16. Sound check: 70.
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